EARTHQUAKE.

151

heroism and vigour of men, and of the indomitable power ofmaternal affection. • An infant was rescued clinging to thebreast of its dead mother, and perfectly recovered, afterbeing three days under the ruins. An uncle of myold friend and comrade, General William Pepe, was dugout alive, on the fifth day. A lady with child was liberated bythe sole labour of her husband, after being two days buried.Three days afterwards she was brought to bed, and toge-ther with her child and husband, lived many years. Beingasked what sensations she felt in her horrid tomb, she re-plied—“ I waited and waited with confidence, knowing thatmy husband was alive.” A girl of eleven years of age wasdug out on the sixth day, and lived. Another aged sixteen,named Eloisa Basili, remained buried eleven days, with aninfant in her arms, which on the fourth day died, so that,on their being delivered, the latter was in a state ofputridity. The poor girl Eloisa, could not possibly liberateherself from the corps of her little sister, being closelyhemmed in by the ruins. A slight glimmer of light pene-trated to her tomb, which enabled her to count the returnsof day. But other authority, irrefragably established thefacts of this surprising case, and those already men-tioned.

Many cases of prolonged vitality in animals, were moresurprising than those of the human species. Two muleslived under a mountain of ruins, one twenty-two days, theother twenty-three. A hen lived also twenty-two days, andtwo fat pigs, thirty-two days. All of the human species, aswell as the brutes, thus ushered again to day, preserved fora length of time a sort of stupid weakness—no desire to eat—an unsatiable thirst, and an almost blindness.

Of the number saved, many men returned to their occu-pations, healthy and in good spirits, while others remainedailing and melancholy. This difference was supposed in